Aquata's Helping Hand
by FaithInHim4ever
Summary: Takes place in the episode "Stormy." Ever wonder if anyone talked to Ariel while Sebastian talks to the King after Triton tells Ariel she can't ride Stormy? The answer lies within. R/R


DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own any of the chars from TLM. They belong to Disney.

A/N: This idea came to mind after watching "Stormy" just the other night. I think this story explains a few things left out n the episode. I hope everyone likes it!

"Aquata's Helping Hand"

"Actually, I was hoping to ride, Stormy." Ariel said carefully.

She realized a moment later that she had said the wrong thing.

Her suspicions were confirmed when all of her sisters and her father started laughing hard.

Well, almost all of her sisters.

Aquata, the eldest, wasn't laughing. She was looking at Ariel with an expression that was a mix between worry and exasperation on her face.

While Ariel appreciated Aquata's concern, she could handle herself just fine.

"Stormy?" Her father asked, still trying to control his mirth. "Why that wild seahorse would throw you in an instant."

"No he wouldn't, Father. He likes me. He let me swim right up and pet him."

Aquata held her breath. She knew Ariel had done it now.

"You petted him?!" Triton exclaimed. "Ariel, I forbid you to go near that wild seahorse!" He proclaimed angrily.

Aquata's heart broke as she saw the tears fill her baby sister's cobalt eyes and spill over her pretty features like a smooth storm.

She tried to reach out and comfort her, but Ariel was too fast for her.

Even so, Aquata knew she couldn't leave this alone. She had to make sure her baby sister was all right.

Secretly, she felt their father had been too harsh with Ariel, but she wasn't going to say anything aloud.

The sound of Arista's voice brought the eldest mermaid out of her thoughts.

"May we be excused too, Father? We have to uh, wash our hair."

Triton nodded his approval.

The six mer princesses left the room at once. All of them were chattering about what had just happened. All of them except Aquata.

"She's in hot water now!" Arista giggled, referring to Ariel.

Attina nodded in agreement.

"Silly girl." She said as another burst of mirth escaped her lips.

Aquata shook her head.

"Poor Ariel." She said softly. With that, she made her way to her little sister's bedroom.

Getting to the door, the eldest of Triton's daughters could hear voices coming from within.

The sound of her baby sister's tearful voice broke Aquata's heart.

"Come on, Ariel. " Flounder was saying as he watched Ariel crying face down on her bed. "There's still lots of fun things we could do without a giant seahorse."

Ariel let out a sob as she spoke.

"Daddy does whatever he wants. But he won't let me do what I want. Why is he so mean?" With that, she continued to cry.

Aquata took that as her cue to enter the room.

Knocking on the door, she was met by a tearful, "Go away!" from Ariel.

"Ariel, it's me. " Aquata said. "May I come in?"

Ariel thought about this for a minute before saying yes.

Entering Ariel's room, the sight she found broke her heart.

"Ariel…" She said softly as she approached her. She reached out and put a hand on her shoulder.

Getting no resistance, she started stroking her hair.

"Shh, shh," she soothed as Ariel let out another sob. "If it makes you feel better, I think Father was a little harsh."

This got Ariel's attention. She lifted her face from her pillow and locked her blue eyes with Aquata's brown ones.

"You do?" She asked tearfully.

Aquata nodded.

Seizing her chance, she held her arms out to her distraught little sister.

Ariel let Aquata hold her for a few minutes, burying her face in her shoulder.

After a few minutes of silence had passed, broken only by Ariel's sobs, Aquata began to speak. She wanted to see if she could talk some horse sense into her baby sister before she did something she would regret.

"Ariel, I know this might be hard to believe, but Father does love you."

"I know." Ariel assured her.

Aquata nodded before continuing to speak.

"That's why he gets so angry with you sometimes." Aquata continued.

"But this doesn't have anything to do with things from "up there"." Ariel argued tearfully. "I mean Arista has her own seahorse, you have yours. Attina and Adella have theirs. I just want a chance to prove I can handle one of my own. I know I can ride Stormy if Daddy will give me a chance. Stormy's just misunderstood."

"Like you are sometimes. " Aquata mused tenderly.

"Yeah. Aquata, I don't get it. Why is Daddy so stubborn?"

"Just like you." Aquata observed.

"I mean it feels like the only thing he says to me nowadays is pno." With that, she went on a mini, but very overdue rant. "Ariel, no you can't do that. Or no, Ariel you can't do this. Or no, Ariel, I don't think that's such a good idea. Just once, I would love it if he would just say yes or maybe. Why doesn't he give me a chance. I feel like he doesn't even hear what I say half the time. I mean he might hear me, but he doesn't listen."

"Father's just afraid you'll get hurt." Aquata explained.

"Stormy would never hurt me." Ariel said confidently.

"Maybe not on purpose." Aquata countered wisely.

"I understand him." Ariel insisted. "I know what it feels like."

"That maybe so." Aquata conceded. "But he's still a wild animal. That means there's still a chance he could hurt you accidentally."

"And there's a chance that he won't and I can prove Daddy wrong." Ariel argued.

"You know something." Aquata said thoughtfully while changing the subject for a minute.

"What?" Ariel asked softly.

"This is the first time I've held you in months, maybe years even." Aquata replied.

Ariel nodded in agreement.

"I'm sorry." She suddenly apologized.

"For what?" Aquata asked.

"Arista's never going to let you live this down." Ariel told her eldest sister.

Aquata shook her head.

"I'm doing what I do best." She said fondly. "I would do the same thing for Arista or Attina or any of the others."

"I know. But something tells me you wouldn't get as much junk for doing it from Arista. But because it's me…"

"Don't worry about her." Aquata advised. "She's just being Arista. I love you, Ariel. Just like I love our other sisters. I don't like seeing any of you in pain."

For a few minutes, Ariel just let her sister hold her, relishing in the safety she felt in Aquata's embrace.

She had really missed spending time with her eldest sister as well.

Aquata spoke just then.

"Ariel, please, don't do anything too rash."

"I won't." Ariel said earnestly. "I promise. Stormy doesn't deserve to be tied up. He needs to be free."

"You're right about that. But there are ways of going about doing that. Ways that won't get you hurt in the process. You know I love you very much, baby sister."

"I know. You wouldn't be here if you didn't." Ariel said.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Aquata asked in concern as she gave her one more hug.

"Yeah." Ariel said as she blinked back the remaining tears and tried to calm down. "I'll be fine."

"Okay." With that, Aquata turned to leave.

Getting to the door, she was stopped by Ariel addressing her from behind.

"Aquata?"

"Yes?"

Ariel gave her eldest sister a watery smile.

"Thanks." The youngest said gratefully.

"No thanks needed." Aquata assured her. "But you're welcome. Any time."

Ariel grinned. She knew Aquata meant it.

Much later that night, Ariel swam through the palace entrance, tears blinding her vision.

She wasn't even aware of where her fins were carrying her. All she wanted to do was be alone. She was also very worried about Stormy.

Surely her father couldn't have meant what he said. Even though he had been very angry when he had said it.

As Ariel continued to swim, she found her way into the dressing room by accident.

She found Aquata and Arista inside. The two had been talking about the outfit Arista was going to wear on her next date with Jeremy.

Their conversation had been cut short when Ariel joined them in tears.

She was about to turn back, when Aquata called out to her.

"Ariel?" She asked. She grew concerned when she saw her baby sister crying once again. "Ariel, what's wrong?"

Ariel, not wanting to explain herself to anyone, tried to play it off as it not being a big deal.

"Nothing." She said tearfully. "Just leave me alone."

"This ought to be good." Arista quipped, receiving a glare from Aquata.

Despite Ariel's efforts, Aquata wasn't' fooled in the least.

"Ariel, what's the matter?" Aquata tried again. She reached out and attempted to hug her sister, but Ariel pulled away. "You wouldn't be crying if it was nothing." She added.

"Leave me alone!" Ariel said again. "Please!"

"No." Aquata said just as stubbornly. "Come here." With that, she pulled Ariel close, despite her sister's struggles to get away.

"Aquata, let go!" Ariel ordered, trying in vein to break free.

"No." Aquata repeated. She managed to pull Ariel close and wrap her in a hug. "Now, what's wrong?"

Once Ariel stopped struggling, she let out a sob while seeking comfort from her eldest sister.

Aquata stroked her hair as she had done so many times before in an effort to calm her down.

"Shh, shh…" She soothed. "What happened?" She asked gently.

"Nothing!" Ariel insisted tearfully. "Trust me, okay? It doesn't matter now anyway."

"Like I said before, if it didn't' matter, you wouldn't be crying. Come on, talk to me." She coaxed.

"Daddy…" Ariel said as she let out another sob.

Aquata sighed. She had a feeling their father was involved somehow.

"What about Father?" She asked as she combed a hand through her sister's long red hair.

"Daddy's gonna….he's gonna send Stormy to a…"

"What does Stormy have to do with this?" Aquata asked just as another sob escaped her baby sister's lips.

From her place at her vanity, Arista decided to get in on the action.

"What'd you do now?" She taunted.

Aquata glared at her.

"Arista, why don't you leave us alone for a few minutes. Please?"

Arista shook her head.

"And miss this? No way! I'm staying right here." With that, she went back to selecting an outfit for the next day while still keeping an ear on the conversation between her youngest and eldest sister.

Aquata turned her attention back to her baby sister who was almost hysterical in her arms.

"Shh, shh, Ariel, it's okay." She soothed in an attempt to help her calm down.

Ariel shook her head.

"No it's not!" She tearfully protested.

Realizing something, Aquata asked a question she had asked earlier.

"What does Stormy have to do with this?"

Ariel let out another sob as she tried to explain.

"I went to visit Stormy tonight and Daddy found me there." She started. "Daddy's gonna sell Stormy to a…he's selling Stormy to a seahorse trader! Now he'll never be free. And it's all my fault!" With that, she broke down in Aquata's arms.

Aquata shook her head.

"No, it's not." She assured her baby sister. "Ariel, it's not your fault."

"Aquata, Stormy doesn't deserve that!" Ariel sobbed.

"I know." Aquata soothed. "I know."

"You got that one right. " Arista said as she put her outfit aside.

"What? " Ariel asked in surprise. She turned so she was facing Arista.

"It Is all your fault." She pointed out. "It serves you right."

Ariel glared at her before collapsing in tears while burying her face in Aquata's shoulder once again.

"Arista…" Aquata said warningly.

"What?" Arista asked innocently. With that, she was gone.

Once she left, Aquata turned her attention back to Ariel.

"Ariel, listen to me." She said gently. "It was to your fault. Arista was just being Arista."

Ariel shook her head as more tears came.

"No, she's right. It is my fault! If I would have just waited until tomorrow to visit Stormy."

Aquata sighed as she tried to comfort her little sister and calm her.

"Ariel, it's okay." Aquata tried to assure her.

"Aquata, no it's not. Stormy deserves to be free. He doesn't deserve to be sold to someone who might hurt him! We have to try and stop Daddy."

Rather than dash Ariel's hopes of changing their father's mind, Aquata decided to try a different tactic with her.

"Maybe Father didn't mean it. You know he says things in anger sometimes."

"Aquata, you didn't hear him. This was different. He meant what he said!"

"Okay." Aquata said as she stroked hr hair. "Okay. Shh, it's okay. It's okay…" With that, she concentrated on getting Ariel's breathing under control.

"How about you sleep in my room tonight?" Aquata offered.

"You don't mind?" Ariel asked.

Aquata shook her head.

"Ariel, of course I don't mind. You're my baby sister. I'd do anything for you. I'll always be here to help you. Come on." With that, she led the way back to her bedroom.

Once they got there, Aquata tucked Ariel in and made sure she was going to be okay.

She climbed in next to her and wrapped a protective arm around her.

"Just try and get some sleep." She advised. "We'll talk to Father in the morning."

"You mean you'll go with me to try and change his mind?" Ariel asked, a note of gratitude in her voice.

"Uh-huh." Aquata replied.

"I don't know if I can sleep." Ariel admitted. "I'm too worried about Stormy."

"Try." Aquata coaxed. "Would Mom's lullaby help?"

Ariel nodded as her eyes closed.

As the soothing and familiar melody met Ariel's ears, she closed her eyes and was asleep within minutes.

Aquata smiled down at her with nothing but love in her eyes.

"Sweet dreams, Ariel. I love you." With that, she too drifted off to sleep soon after.

THE END


End file.
